Ox Cart Days 2010

Well, we survived our first Ox Cart Days and what a fun weekend it was! I had been pretty stressed about it for months. The people had made their reservations for the motel last year and so there was a lot of pressure to make sure that everyone was where they wanted to be and get everyone settled, not to mention meet their expectations of last year.

Most of our guests for the weekend were here with their classic cars for the car show and the rest were here for a 50th high school reunion. What fun people! The car people come every year and are very cool. They had no trouble coming in and chatting or joking with us. They made us feel like we were apart of their group. I can't wait to see them again next year.

Well, everyone found their rooms (and raved about how clean they were - always a plus) and we got to participate in much of the entertainment for the weekend. Everything happened in town just walking distance from our house so it was very nice not to have to drive in and try and find parking.

The first night was the kids peddle pull. The girls were so excited to get to be involved. Neither of them won anything but they had a good time.

After the kids peddle pull was the bed races. I really didn't know what to expect but it was pretty funny to see. Two people push the bed down the road while 2 people sit in the bed. When they get to the end of the road they switched places and clothes and run back to the other end of the road. After the race we enjoyed the brat and corn feed. It was the best corn I have had this year!

The second night was the classic car show. It was so cool to see all of these old cars. It was also cool to see so many of our guests and their cars there.

There was also a raffle and the girls were chosen to draw the winning numbers. They were very excited, however, they didn't draw our numbers.

After the car show was the parade. Some people from our church have a house on the parade route so they invited everyone from church over for a BBQ and the parade. We stayed very late and had a wonderful time.

There were lots of other things going on all weekend that we just didn't have time to participate in. We were sad to see all of the wonderful guests leave but it was nice to be able to take a breath and put our feet up.

Truly God's Country

When we decided to move up here I Googled Crookston to see if I could find some pictures to show me what we were getting ourselves into. All I could find were pictures of flat, empty fields with snow blowing across them. I was a bit scared and sad that there didn't seem to be any scenery. Well, that is not at all true. Crookston has one of the cutest down towns I have ever seen. There is so much history here. I did my best to get some pictures but it is really hard for me to truly capture the beauty of this town.

This picture was taken during Crazy Days in July just outside my favorite store, Willow & Ivy. They are a mixture of antiques and boutique type stuff. They are in the old fire and police station. Across from Willow & Ivy is Widman's Candy Shop. They have been run by the same family and in the same location for almost 100 years. (I will try and get pictures of inside the candy shop soon).
Oof-da Taco is a food wagon that shows up in different locations downtown during the summer. We have not tried one (every time we see it we have just eaten) but to walk by it smells wonderful.
Just outside of town, no matter which way you drive, there are many farms. The scenery is amazing! Yes, in the winter they are empty, flat and blowing snow but in the summer they are just beautiful.
Another amazing crop out here is sunflowers. I have always taken for granted that sunflower seeds just show up in bags in the store. I never really gave much thought as to where they were grown. They are grown here. Thousand and thousands of acres of sunflowers. The smell is just as amazing as the field itself.

Amber Waves Of Grain

These are two of the many wheat fields just outside of Crookston. The first one was taken about a week ago and the second one was taken about two days ago after they started harvesting.

Mitchell, SD

This year for Kelly's family reunion we went camping in Mitchell, SD. Despite 2 major storms, 2 flat tires and Ada getting stung by a hornet, we had a great time. It was so nice to see Kelly's family. Some of his cousins we have not seen for many years.

Two of the frogs Ada found on one of her "hunting" expeditions.

Lots of swimming...

and relaxing.

Ada got to ride a bikes through the campground with grandpa.

Emily played mini golf with grandma.

Some of the damage after one of the storms.

The sunset after the storm.

Not the best picture but proof that I was there.

Water balloon games for the kids.

Old House Rule #1

Just because there is no standing water in your basement does not mean that your basement is dry.

The Knee Bones Connected To The Thigh Bone.....

And the kitchen is connected to the bathroom, the outdoor spicket and the radiators.

My dad came out earlier this week to help us install our new kitchen cabinets (I will have pictures when it is completed). It is amazing how much of the house gets effected by putting in cabinets. We moved the sink from one end of the counter to the corner and because of that little change we ended up re-plumbing the house.

The ceiling in the basement was a maze of pipes in a variety of sizes which resulted in very low water pressure. Some of the pipes were installed around 1920ish (we think) and some were moved/replaced in the last few years. It was a mess! There were bends and loops where no bends or loops were needed. The outdoor water spicket just plain wouldn't work. It was almost impossible to brush your teeth and flush the toilet at the same time.

Granted have been without water for about 24 hours now but it will be so worth it!

4th Of July Festivities

Every year my family gets together for 4th of July. This year, being that I moved away, my brother and his family invited me and the girls (Kelly had to stay back and look after the motel) to stay with them for the weekend. To say they were wonderful hosts would be an understatement.

The first night we were there Steve grilled and had a cherry pitting race with the kids. Very fun! Ada got such a kick out of it. She even tried to cheat a couple of times but it never worked. Steve won every race.

On Saturday we went to the carnival in town. Ada and Em got to see a baseball game for the first time (only about an inning. The Shea's are not big sports fans).

They went on a couple carnival rides.

Ate cotton candy and a snow cone (thank you Uncle Steve!)

On the 4th of July we always go to the Delano parade and have a BBQ at my dad's house. He makes brats and ribs and everyone brings a side dish to share. There is always so much food.

When we were not running around doing carnivals and parades we just hung out at my brothers. Steve and the kids would race each other on Mario Cart on their DS's. Again, Steve won most races. Unless the girls ganged up on him and made him lose.

We also played with Ellie the family dog. She is such a sweet and good dog. I wanted to take her home with me.